Home cards

Home cards make actionable recommendations based on data from the merchant’s store, or give merchants feedback about their store’s performance.

Home cards should:

  • track progress and give feedback
  • teach and educate
  • inspire and motivate
  • be data-driven and use data from the merchant’s store

Home card types

When choosing a home card type, think about the simplest way to present your message. For example, if the goal of the card is to inform merchants about holiday shipping deadlines, then a table is probably the best way to present this information. Alternatively, if your goal is to recognize merchant success, consider using a large illustration with some encouraging content.

Simple card

Use when:

  • you have one data point or recommendation, and one action. Use of the “Learn more” link is optional.

Simple Home card encouraging the merchant to add or learn more about an advertising campaign

Action-list card

Use when:

  • you have one data point and a series of related actions

Action-list home card showing several suggested discounts the merchant can add, and prompting them to create their own

Table card

Use when:

  • you have more than one data point but one action

Table card showing shipping services and the holiday dates the merchant can expect for each, with a prompt to see unfulfilled orders

Large illustration card

Use when:

  • you need to introduce an unfamiliar concept, or you want to recognize merchant success
  • you want to announce a new Shopify feature

Large illustration card encouraging and prompting the merchant to set up gift cards for the holidays

Graph card

Use when:

  • you need to show trends over time or compare two datasets

Graph card showing an upward trend in traffic to the merchant’s store from a social media post

Video card

Use when:

  • you need to communicate an unfamiliar concept or idea, or explain a complex task

Video card showing a video introducing an app, with a call to action to add it to the merchant’s store

Blog card

Use when:

  • you need to recommend a helpful Shopify blog post based on a merchant’s previous activity

Blog card showing a short description and link for a blog post relevant to the merchant’s experience

Comparison card

Use when:

  • you need to compare two data points

Comparison card showing a brief description of a specific data point, with a comparison between the merchant’s data and an industry standard

Content

In general, home card content should follow this format:

  • The heading should clearly state the merchant benefit or primary data point. Keep headings to a single sentence fragment and don’t use punctuation at the end.
  • Body content should explain the value or significance of the information in the heading, and provide next steps. Body content should be concise and no longer than two sentences.
  • The primary call-to-action should be clear, predictable, and actionable. A merchant should anticipate where the call-to-action button takes them. Call-to-action buttons are action-led (verb + noun format), and shouldn’t exceed 34 characters in length.
  • A secondary call-to-action links to a Shopify Help Center article or a Shopify Blog post. Include a secondary action whenever educational content is available for the topic of the home card. The button content is always “Learn more”.

Voice and tone

A good home card prioritizes merchant needs over Shopify’s needs. Home cards are not advertisements, status updates, or error messages.

The tone changes depending on the context or situation of a card, but it should always be empathetic. For example, for a message about a negative situation, the tone should be considerate and encouraging, with a recommended action on how to fix it.

Positive situation

  • Recognize milestones that merchants might find significant.

    Congratulations on your 1st order
    Sarah Rodriguez bought Rainbow Unicorn Plushie.

    People are subscribing to your mailing list
    Your mailing list lets you contact customers or visitors who have shown an interest in your store. Reach out to them with exclusive offers or updates about your products.

  • Don’t downplay or over-exaggerate details.

    You have received your 10th order.

    Congratulations! You’ve received 4 orders today!
    Fulfill them from your Orders page!

Neutral situation

  • Share important information or insights about the merchant’s business.

    Visitors from these social sites are spending time in your store
    Here’s how many pages they viewed and how long they stayed.

  • Don’t emphasize what Shopify can do for the merchant. Focus on the merchant benefit instead.

    Use Shopify Payments!
    We make it easy to accept payments online and won’t charge you any transaction fees.

    Shopify Capital is offering you up to $10,000 in funding
    It’s easy to apply and it’ll help your business grow!

Negative situation

  • Be considerate with sensitive information and offer merchants solutions if something went wrong.

    Some of your visitors can’t find what they’re looking for
    You might want to add product descriptions to help them out.

  • Don’t blame the merchant or only offer impractical or costly solutions.

    Your shipping rates are high compared to similar stores
    Save money on shipping labels with Shopify Shipping.

    Sales are down this week
    Consider creating a marketing campaign to promote your products.